A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices for the prevention of incontinence in females.
B. Prior Art
Incontinence of urine is a common problem in mature women. With aging, hormonal changes and the consequences of childbirth, there is a loosening of tissues resulting in the loss of the normal angle at the bladder outlet to the urethra known as the urethrovesical (UV) junction. This junction or angle normally serves to support the sphincter at the bladder outlet that contains urine. Since urination depends on relaxing the sphincter, a loss in the UV junction angle results in permanent partial relaxation and urinary dribbling. The dribbling is further aggravated by sudden increases in abdominal pressure caused by sneezing, coughing, and laughing, and is known as "stress incontinence."
In order to correct this problem, several surgical procedures have been designed. Although helpful, they are not always appropriate, and they are not universally successful. Therefore, various devices have been used to deal with this problem.
Among these devices are pads that soak up the urine and must be changed at frequent intervals, urethral caps, held in by adhesives to attempt to block urethral leakage, and an invasive urethral catheter device, anchored by an inflatable balloon to plug the urethra.
The pads are cumbersome and require frequent changing, the caps are only partially effective and depend on a potentially irritating adhesive, and the catheter balloon can cause urethral irritation and infection as it is an invasive device.
Wholly intra-vaginal devices have been proposed for addressing the problem if incontinence. These have the disadvantage that they create rectal pressure, and thus discomfort. Additionally, they are often difficult to insert and remove and are difficult to properly place. Further, intra-vaginal device with rings must be sized to the specific patient, and cannot be used at all for post-hysterectomy patients.